Mobile wireless presence and situation management system and method

ABSTRACT

A method for adjusting the operating parameters of a wireless device for use in a wireless communication network begins by entering and storing situation settings. When a communication is received at the network for the wireless device, the presence of the wireless device is determined. The situation settings are applied based upon the presence of the wireless device. The wireless device is informed of the communication via the applied situation settings.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.60/517,657, filed Nov. 5, 2003, which is incorporated by reference as iffully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to wireless communicationsystems, and more particularly, to a system and method for adjusting theoperating parameters of a wireless device based upon its presence andsituation.

BACKGROUND

Present wireless phones do not include mechanisms to determine a user'slocation, who the user is with, what the user is doing, or how the userwould prefer to be communicated to. This type of knowledge is known aspresence and situation information. Presence information relates to boththe networks and services that a device is present for (i.e., currentlyavailable to utilize). Situation information relates to the situationthat the device is currently experiencing, including the physicallocation of the device, the proximity to other wireless devices, and theenvironment the user is in.

An example of presence information is “buddy lists” in instant messagingapplications. When one of the users in User A's buddy list connects to anetwork with the instant messaging application, User A receives anindication on his or her screen that the other user has connected to thenetwork (is “present”) and may be available for communication. The buddylist also contains information such as when a user is connected to thenetwork, but is not accepting communications.

Situation information is desirable, since wireless phones can beintrusive and sometimes become dangerous distractions by ringing atinappropriate times, such as when the phone owner is engaged in animportant conversation, in a meeting, attending religious services,driving in bad weather conditions, or during an airplane takeoff/landingsituation (assuming that the phone has been inadvertently left on). Itis therefore desirable to incorporate presence and situation informationinto a wireless phone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method for adjusting the operating parameters of a wireless device foruse in a wireless communication network begins by generating and storingsituation settings. When a communication is received at the network forthe wireless device, the presence of the wireless device is determined.The situation settings are applied based upon the presence of thewireless device. The wireless device is informed of the communicationvia the applied situation settings.

The presence and situation information for one or more wireless devicesis determined by the wireless device itself, by the network, or by acombination of both the device and the network. For example, thepresence and situation information may be entered into the wirelessdevice manually, automatically, or semi-automatically. Alternately, thenetwork may determine the location of the wireless device either byitself or in concert with the wireless device. The presence andsituation information or part thereof, is then stored in the device, inthe network, or in both the device and the network.

A system for adjusting the operating parameters of a wireless device ina wireless communication network includes entering means for enteringsituation settings; storing means for storing the situation settings;receiving means for receiving a communication at the network for thewireless device; presence means for determining the presence of thewireless device; applying means for applying the situation settingsbased upon the presence of the wireless device; and informing means forinforming the wireless device of the communication via the appliedsituation settings.

A method for controlling the communications of a wireless device in awireless network using presence and situation information begins bygenerating presence and situation information pertaining to the wirelessdevice. The presence and situation information is stored in the wirelessdevice and/or the wireless network. The presence and situationinformation is retrieved from its stored location and is used to controlthe communications of the wireless device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding of the invention may be had from thefollowing description of preferred embodiments, given by way of example,and to be understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a system using the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a wireless transmit/receive unit(WTRU) constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the exchange of messages during aninformation update in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a user's personal area networkoperating in a system constructed in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following discussion uses wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) toillustrate the functionality of the present invention. However, it isnoted that the present invention can be used with any type of wirelesscommunication device that is capable of connecting to a network. Thesedevices include, but are not limited to, those that contain cellularnetwork capability, wireless local area network (WLAN) capability,Bluetooth connectivity, and the like. Hereafter, a WTRU includes, but isnot limited to, a user equipment, a mobile station, a fixed or mobilesubscriber unit, a pager, or any other type of device capable ofoperating in a wireless environment.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a presence and situation (P&S) managementsystem 100 includes a number of wireless devices, such as a WTRU 102, ahand-held computer 104, and a laptop computer 106. It is noted thatthese devices are merely examples of the types of devices that can beused in the system 100; any device capable of wirelessly accessing anetwork can be used with the system 100. The devices 102, 104, 106communicate via a wireless link 108 with a network 110. The network 110includes a presence and situation (P&S) management server 112.

The P&S management system 100 has knowledge of a user's current presenceand situation information. From this knowledge, the system 100 candetermine the availability of the user. For example, if the user is in ameeting and has indicated to the P&S management system the he/she doesnot want to receive incoming calls, the caller would receive anindication that the user is unavailable.

A preferred embodiment of a WTRU 102 constructed in accordance with thepresent invention is shown as a the simplified block diagram in FIG. 2.A WTRU 102 receives and transmits signals using an antenna/antenna array202 and a transceiver 204. The transceiver 204 is one component in theWTRU processing circuitry 206. A P&S generator 208 automaticallygenerates the presence and situation information, without manual inputby the user. A memory 210 is used to store the P&S related information.Alternatively, the P&S information can be stored in the network 110, ina record associated with the user. A GPS device 212 is an optionaldevice that can be included with the WTRU 102 and used to providelocation information for the phone.

The P&S information can be populated in one of three ways: manuallyentered by the user; automatically determined by the user's WTRU 102(via the P&S generator 208); or detected by the network 110. The manualentering of the information may be done into the WTRU or directly intothe P&S management system via a Web-based utility program. In addition,the WTRU 102 can act as a conduit to the network 110 for a group ofdevices belonging to a single user.

The situation information includes information such as whether the userdoes not want to receive any incoming calls, no calls exceptemergencies, or only calls from a list of “buddies/bosses”. For example,the user may wish to block all incoming calls when his/her phone iseither lost or lent to someone else. Such information can be manuallyinput by the user (e.g., set up a situation management profile). Thedevices connected to the network 110 have user interfaces that suitablydisplay this information via icons, text, or audio signals.

The location information includes information such as whether the useris in a hospital, in a theater, driving, or in an airplane. Thisinformation may be obtained by:

(1) Location-aware phones and map data. The present location of the WTRU102 can be determined by GPS (by the GPS device 212) or other locationtechnology, such as network-assisted GPS or triangulation techniquesutilizing the cellular network. The map data can be stored in either theWTRU 102 or on the network 110.

(2) Learned automatically via peer-mode connections to other peerentities. For example, hospitals may have Bluetooth transponders, whichconstantly broadcast their own information, which can be picked up by aWTRU 102 that roams into the hospital.

(3) Alternately, the phone network, which is capable of knowing thephone location, may send a message to the WTRU 102 to update thesituation information.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method 300 utilizing the P&S informationin accordance with the present invention. The method 300 begins (step302) by entering the situation settings desired by the user via theuser's wireless device (step 304). The situation settings are thenstored in the device or on the network (step 306). When the networkreceives a communication for the device (step 308), the presence of thedevice is determined (step 310).

After the presence of the device is determined, the situation settingsare applied, based upon the presence information (step 312). Thesituation settings can be applied at either the device or the network.After the situation settings are applied, the device is informed of thecommunication by the network (step 314), and the method terminates (step316).

FIG. 4 shows a series of message exchanges 400 between the device 402and the network 404, which is used to synchronize the P&S information ofthe user between the device 402 and the network 404. When the P&Sinformation is updated at the device (block 410), an update trigger 412is sent by the device 402. The network 404 receives the update trigger,verifies the identity of the device 402, and begins the update process(block 414).

The network 404 requests the P&S information from the device 402 (block416). The device 402 receives the update request and verifies theidentity of the network (block 418). The device 402 then sends the P&Sinformation to the network (block 420). The network 404 receives the P&Sinformation (block 422) and stores the P&S information (block 424).

The verification steps performed at blocks 414 and 418 are designed toadd a level of security to the synchronization process, by ensuring thatthe information transfer between the device 402 and the network 404 isauthorized, and that neither the device 402 nor the network 404 arecommunicating with any unauthorized devices. Based on the synchronizedP&S information, the network appropriately handles the signaling andtraffic flow to and from the user. Since the network has knowledge ofthe user's current P&S information, it can properly signal the useraccording to the situation settings previously established. The networkmay restrict incoming calls if the user is in a hospital or library. Itmay send a short message service (SMS) message instead of a ring tone.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a system 500 includes a user's personal areanetwork (PAN) 502 having several devices 504, 506, 508, and 510. Thedevices 504-510 can communicate with each other through any availablemedium in an ad hoc manner; the connections between the devices 504-510are shown as dashed lines to indicate the non-permanent nature of theseconnections. The PAN 502 communicates with a network 512 via a wirelesslink 514. While the wireless link 514 is shown connecting the network512 and device 506, the network can communicate with any device 504-510of the PAN 502.

When the network 512 is communicating with a PAN 502, it can takeactions not available when communicating with a single device, such assending the call to a different device 504-510 (i.e., call forwarding)or communicating generally with the user's PAN 502, with the PAN routingthe communication to the appropriate device. For example, if an audiofile is being sent to the user, the audio file could be routed to theuser's standalone audio player, instead of their phone. Similarly, thenetwork 512 may disable the user from making or receiving any calls (forexample, if he is in airplane). The configuration options available forthe situation settings are only limited by the capabilities of thedevices 504-510 in the user's PAN 502.

While the present invention has been described above in connection withwireless mobile devices, it is also applicable to nomadic wired devices,such as a laptop that is attached to different subnets. The onlydifferences between the operation of the invention in the “nomadicwired” setting is that the situation information is likely to bedifferent; otherwise, the invention operates in the same manner asdescribed above.

The present invention can also be used by soldiers. In such anembodiment, the general operation of the invention is the same, but theP&S information is updated with greater frequency, as this informationcan be crucial in a military setting. For example, the invention can beused in a military setting with an ad hoc network, where there aremultiple moving devices that need to be in communication with eachother. The P&S information is exchanged between devices connected to thead hoc network before being passed to the main network. It is alsopossible to use a mesh network in this setting, in which each deviceconnected to the mesh network receives at least some of the information,but perhaps not all of the information. In order to obtain a completeP&S picture of all of the devices connected to the mesh network, theinformation will need to be fused together from the different devices.

It is noted that the present invention can be used with both packet-switched (used with certain types of services) and circuit-switched(“always connected”) technologies. While specific embodiments of thepresent invention have been shown and described, many modifications andvariations could be made by one skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope of the invention. The above description serves toillustrate and not limit the particular invention in any way.

1. A method for adjusting the operating parameters of a wireless devicefor use in a wireless communication network, comprising the steps of:generating situation settings; storing the situation settings; receivinga communication at the network for the wireless device; determining thepresence of the wireless device; applying the situation settings basedupon the presence of the wireless device; and informing the wirelessdevice of the communication via the applied situation settings.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein said generating step is performedat the wireless device.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein saidgenerating step is performed at the network.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, wherein said storing step is performed at the wireless device.5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said storing step isperformed at the network.
 6. The method according to claim 1, whereinsaid storing step is performed partly at the wireless device and partlyat the network.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein saiddetermining step is performed at the wireless device.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said determining step is performed at thenetwork.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said applying stepis performed at the wireless device.
 10. The method according to claim1, wherein said applying step is performed at the network.
 11. A handsetfor use in a wireless communication system, comprising: a presence andsituation generator for generating presence and situation informationrelating to said handset; and a memory for storing the presence andsituation information.
 12. The handset according to claim 11, furthercomprising a global positioning system device.
 13. A system foradjusting the operating parameters of a wireless device in a wirelesscommunication network, comprising: generating means for generatingsituation settings; storing means for storing the situation settings;receiving means for receiving a communication at said network for saidwireless device; presence means for determining the presence of saidwireless device; applying means for applying the situation settingsbased upon the presence of said wireless device; and informing means forinforming said wireless device of the communication via the appliedsituation settings.
 14. The system according to claim 13, wherein saidwireless device includes said generating means.
 15. The system accordingto claim 13, wherein said network includes said generating means. 16.The system according to claim 13, wherein said wireless device includessaid storing means.
 17. The system according to claim 13, wherein saidwireless device includes said presence means.
 18. The system accordingto claim 13, wherein said wireless device includes said applying means.19. The system according to claim 13, wherein said network includes saidstoring means.
 20. The system according to claim 13, wherein saidnetwork includes said presence means.
 21. The system according to claim13, wherein said network includes said applying means.
 22. A method forcontrolling the communications of a wireless device in a wirelessnetwork using presence and situation information, comprising the stepsof: generating presence and situation information pertaining to thewireless device; storing the presence and situation information;retrieving the presence and situation information; and controlling thecommunications of the wireless device by using the presence andsituation information.
 23. The method according to claim 22, whereinsaid generating step includes manually entering presence and situationinformation into the wireless device.
 24. The method according to claim22, wherein said generating step includes automatically generatingpresence and situation information by sensing the location of thewireless device.
 25. The method according to claim 22, wherein saidgenerating step includes automatically generating presence and situationinformation by local communication between the wireless device and thewireless network.
 26. The method according to claim 22, wherein saidgenerating step includes automatically generating presence and situationinformation by local communication between the wireless device and otherpeer wireless devices.
 27. The method according to claim 22, whereinsaid generating step includes generating the presence and situationinformation by the wireless network based upon measurements made by thewireless network on the wireless device.
 28. The method according toclaim 22, wherein said generating step includes generating the presenceand situation information by the wireless network based uponmeasurements reported from the wireless device to the wireless network.29. The method according to claim 22, wherein said storing step includesstoring the presence and situation information in the wireless device.30. The method according to claim 22, wherein said storing step includesstoring the presence and situation information in the wireless network.31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the presence and situationinformation is stored in the wireless network on a presence andsituation management server.
 32. The method according to claim 22,wherein said storing step includes storing the presence and situationinformation on the wireless device and the wireless network.
 33. Themethod according to claim 32, wherein the presence and situationinformation is stored completely on the wireless device and the wirelessnetwork.
 34. The method according to claim 32, wherein the presence andsituation information is stored partially on the wireless device andpartially on the wireless network.
 35. The method according to claim 22,wherein said retrieving step includes retrieving the presence andsituation information from the wireless network; and said controllingstep is performed by the wireless network.
 36. The method according toclaim 35, wherein if the presence and situation information is notavailable on the wireless network, then querying the wireless device forthe presence and situation information.
 37. The method according toclaim 22, wherein said retrieving step includes retrieving the presenceand situation information from the wireless device; and said controllingstep is performed by the wireless device.
 38. The method according toclaim 37, wherein if the presence and situation information is notavailable on the wireless device, then querying the wireless network forthe presence and situation information.
 39. The method according toclaim 22, wherein the presence information includes a list of users on abuddy list.
 40. The method according to claim 22, wherein the situationinformation includes the physical location of the wireless device. 41.The method according to claim 22, wherein said controlling step includesblocking an incoming call.